Adult Education

WINTER/SPRING 2026
GROWING SOULS, BUILDING CONNECTIONS AND COMMUNITY

At Mishkan Shalom, we believe in learning for life. Below you’ll find a varied, robust range of classes, workshops and experiences to help you grow, learn, and connect with others—no matter your age or prior experience with Judaism.

Torah Queeries

Taught by Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros
Wednesdays, January 7, February 4, March 4, April 8, May 6, and June 3 from 6:30pm-8:00pm
Tuition: Free! (with a $5 cost for anyone who wants to join the community dinner before class)
Register for January Here and February Here; later dates' registration will open later.

Join Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros in their monthly study group to discuss the Torah through a queer lens in this partnership between Mishkan Shalom and Rodeph Shalom. Each month, we will look at the weekly parshah (portion) and grapple with queer themes found within. We will switch off monthly sessions at each congregation with a community dinner followed by the discussion.

In January, for Parshat Shemot (Ex. 1:1-6:1), we read the origin story of Moses who, by circumstance, is able to pass as an Egyptian, thereby creating both particular privileges and difficulties for him. Like Moses, queer people can experience tension around the privileges and difficulties of passing as cisgender and/or heterosexual. During Torah Queeries, we will explore how we can navigate this tension for those who pass and/or do not pass.

In February, for Parshat Yitro (Ex. 18:1-20:23), Moses receives the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. But before doing so, God requires the Israelites to establish boundaries around the mountain. How do some set strict boundaries around queerness? What encourages and discourages some people’s “eggs to crack”––to come out?

Learn to Chant Torah

Taught by David Acker
Saturdays January 10, January 24, January 31, February 7, March 7, and March 21 from 12pm-1pm
Tuition: $108 (Member), $150 (Non-Members)
Register here

By the end of six classes, participants will be able to chant at least one complete aliyah, approximately 3 verses in length. Students will have the option to participate as a Torah reader in an upcoming service. Good facility with decoding Hebrew letters and vowels is a prerequisite.

Soul Collage
Taught by Wendy Galson and Susan Windle
Sundays January 25 and April 19: 2:00pm-5:00pm
Tuition: $40 (Members), $45 (Non-Members)
Register for the January session Here

Awakening to Earth’s Call through Soul Collage offers a quiet afternoon gathering of intuition-driven creativity, informed by the season and the moment in the Jewish year. Participants assemble collages from Mishkan’s collection of visual images; journaling and sharing allow the collages to unfold their personal meaning. We use the card-making techniques of Seena Frost’s SoulCollage®.

Walk the Talk: A Meditative Hike in the Wissahickon in Preparation for Tu BiShevat
Led by Steve Jones
Saturday, January 31: 1:00pm
Tuition: $5 members, $10 non-members
Register here

This winter walk takes place two days before Tu BiShevat, which gives us a chance to experience indigenous Philadelphia trees and plants in the context of the kabbalistic concepts of the “four worlds” of Assiyah (action), Yetzirah (formation), Beriyah (creation), and Atzilut (emanation).

This event is one in an ongoing series of Mishkan Shalom Continuing Education guided walks in the Wissahickon forest, which gives an opportunity to consider the natural and human-influenced forest landscape as a “text” to be “read” and shared. This winter walk will take about an hour and a half.

The walk begins at 1:00 p.m. in the Wissahickon section of Fairmount Park near 707 E. Hermit Lane and the “Hermitage” mansion, about a five-minute car drive from Mishkan Shalom. Here is a link to the meeting location: Hermitage Mansion. Steve’s cell: 215 593-5965.

Please register for this experience if you plan to attend.

Rise and Shine: Challah-Baking 101
Led by Elissa Goldberg and Anndee Hochman
Sunday, February 1, 3:30-5:30 p.m. in the Mishkan kitchen
Tuition: $15 members, $20 non-members
Register here

Learn the secrets of Great-Grandma Lucoff's challah from longtime bakers Elissa Goldberg and Anndee Hochman. In this hands-on workshop, you'll measure the ingredients, knead the dough, braid the strands and bake the bread to a golden, seed-sprinkled finish! You'll leave with dough to take home; our finished challot will stay at Mishkan for future onegs.

Maximum 10 participants, so register early!

You're warmly invited to stay for the Tu B'Shevat seder afterward, starting at 7pm. Please indicate whether you are staying after the challah class for the Tu B'Shevat Seder and Mishkan will order some dinner salads for those staying for both. To register for the Tu B'Shevat Seder RSVP to rabbishawn@mishkan.org. 

Reconstructing Judaism: An Exploration
Taught by Rabbi Shawn Zevit
Saturday, February 21 (On Zoom) from 12:30pm-2:00pm
Tuition: $10 (Members), $15 (Non-Members)
Register here

Reconstructing Judaism: An Exploration: In preparation for the bi-annual convention in Center City Philadelphia, we will study the formation of the fourth major Jewish stream in North America in the 1950s, the evolution of Mordechai Kaplan's Thought into our 21st Century experience. This session will include a look at Rabbi Shawn's "Reconstructionist FAQs" developed with input from movement leaders during his fourteen years working for the movement (1998-2012).

Painting the Omer
Taught by Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros
Wednesdays, March 25, April 22, and May 20 from 6:00pm-7:30pm
Tuition: $75 (Members), $90 (Non-Members)
Register here

Join Rabbinic Intern Sai Koros for a watercolor painting exploration of Counting the Omer. We will explore the ways in which we count our lives, taking inspiration from Kabbalist (Jewish mystical) qualities and putting it to paper with paint. Are we counting down or up to the Omer? What emotions stir in us as we count days?